Wynand and Rouxmia met at 5 years old in pre-school. Of course, at that time they did not care about anything but toys! But she remembers him with his red and white striped tassie and his white-blonde hair. If only she knew he would be the love of her life at that age!
They were in the same class all through primary school, but their paths parted in high school. They reunited with a pizza date in 2016 when they both moved back to Somerset West from Cape Town.
It all started with rekindling of a friendship which not after too long blossomed into something more.
Wynand was planning to travel abroad to Korea to go teach but one day when they went for a walk on the beach, he told her that he can’t go since he met a girl and he wanted to give it a shot. The rest is history.
After 3 and a half years of being a couple, they got engaged on the 22nd of February 2020 in Robertson at the beautiful Air B&B, Cellar 1947. It was pouring rain, so while Rouxmia was getting ready for dinner at Restaurant Succulent by Chef Werner Snoek, Wynand lit candles downstairs without her knowing.
From the very beginning, they decided to have a very intimate beach wedding and are really so happy they did it this way. They are both introverts, but had other reasons for deciding on this wedding style.
Even before Covid happened, they wanted something with only their immediate family and best friends. They treasure special moments and are both from extremely close-knit families. They wanted to focus on them and each other, the families being joined and wanted to create an experience to remember and a relaxing vibe. “We wanted to spend quality time with each and every person who was invited.“
Wynand and Rouxmia decided to make a weekend of it, so they contacted one of Rouxmia’s clients, Karen Schräder from Yzerfontein Accomodation, and asked her to give the best guest house recommendations in Yzerfontein.
Tide & Thyme stood out for them for many reasons. It is right on the beach, they loved the white beach house look (Hamptons Style) and could accommodate all the guests under one roof. No one had to worry about booking accommodation – they just had to pitch up and relax.
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Lucky for the couple, the owner of the house, Denise Levy, also owns Ginger & Lime – an out of this world dining experience – so they booked them and they are all still talking about the amazing food that was prepared and served!
“My dress was made by Shelley Ellis, who has been my moms seamstress for many years. I showed her my Pinterest photos and she created a dress more than what I expected. It was absolutely perfect. I wanted long sleeves and classic. I am a firm believer in less is more! Shelley also made me a beautiful dress to wear in the church on the 19th of November.”
The couple asked Wynand’s father to officiate the wedding on the beach in Yzerfontein which made the event even more special.
“My father past away in 2019 and it was very important for me to have him with me at our wedding. In 2000 he bought a big bottle of red to open on my wedding day. After running out of alcohol during lockdown, Wynand and I were very tempted to open this bottle of wine since we KNEW my dad would have drunk it if he ran out of wine himself.
But after thinking it through and discussing it, we saved the bottle for our wedding day, as my Dad intended. And we are really happy we did that. My father’s initial “T” was also sewed onto my dresses petticoat. It was very special that my brother walked me down the aisle and I know my dad would have been very proud (he cleaned up real nicely).”
Dan Shout from Shout music set the mood with his saxophone, which was really such a romantic touch. He played “All of Me” by John Legend when Rouxmia walked down the aisle.
“I really need to give a special thanks to my Maid of Honour, Cheryl. Not only was she the best MOH a girl could ask for, but she had the very important task of photographing our wedding as well. Cheryl has documented our journey as a couple since Wynand and I met. Cheryl didn’t only JUST take photos of our wedding day on the Saturday, but she had a 3-day shoot with us, capturing the church wedding all the way through till the end. Do you guys even know how much editing that is? Respect!”
“Which leads to Paul – Cheryl’s wingman – not only in life but as a second shooter and when duty called he was also Cheryl’s “MOH” wingman, pouring us girls champagne and taking care of everyone. The man was literally a trooper and he even played ukulele – thank you for practicing Ed Sheeran’s Photograph for us.”
“Then a massive thank you to our amazing parents for everything you have done for us to make this weekend amazing.”
“Go for quality over quantity. This best described our wedding. Keep it small. I personally feel big weddings are spent rushing around, following schedules which steers away from the romance that is happening. Of course all of us girls dream of walking down the aisle in front of many people and celebrating with a big crowd, but it is really extremely special to keep it intimate.”
